Students quiz Nelson about their future Tuesday

20 MAY 2003

An aspiring journalism student concerned about the implications
of proposed education reforms will take Education Minister Brendan
Nelson to task at the National Museum of Australia this
Thursday.

Dan Fisher from Eltham High School in Melbourne is one of three
senior high school students from around the country who will quiz
Dr Nelson in front of a live studio audience as part of the
Talkback Classroom program.

Dan will be joined by Josh Clark from Normanhurst Boys School
in Sydney and Prianka Puri from St Clare's College, Canberra, in
questioning Dr Nelson from 10.00am in the National Museum's Studio
on Thursday 22 May.

Talkback Classroom coincides with National Public Education Day
and the opening of Discovering Democracy, a two-day National Museum
forum on civics education.

National Museum Director Dawn Casey, who is delivering a Public
Education Day lecture at the Canberra Institute of Technology at
12.30pm on Thursday, said programs like Talkback Classroom helped
students recognise their role as individuals contributing to a
democratic society.

'A democracy requires an educated public, and as educators have
been saying for years, those publics just don't happen, they have
to be made,' Ms Casey said.

'Talkback Classroom helps the voters of the future embrace their
role as citizens in society. Whether it takes place in a museum or
a classroom, public education is crucial to the maintenance of any
healthy democracy.'

Talkback Classroom, now in its third year, gives senior
secondary students across Australia the chance to question
politicians and other key public figures on issues of concern to
them and the nation.

The next guest is Prime Minister John Howard on Wednesday 4
June. Mr Howard will be questioned by three Australian students,
along with three American counterparts, via a video conference with
the Smithsonian Institute in Washington.

The National Museum encourages schools to use Talkback Classroom
as a model for social inquiry, investigating topical issues through
media production.